Amazon.com
In Sweet and Vicious, acclaimed author David Schickler treats readers to a magical, mystical tale of star-crossed lovers who develop an electrifying bond while trying to evade the nagging ghosts of their respective pasts. In what can be described as a modern day Bonnie and Clyde meets Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, Schickler invites readers into a world of crime, passion, shame, fury, and ultimately awe-inspiring love.
Henry Dante is a Chicago enforcer who, after a work call takes an ugly turn, hits the road with a briefcase containing the Planets, the seven diamonds he was supposed to deliver to his boss, legendary gangster Honey Pobrinkis. While stopping for gas in a small Wisconsin town, Henry encounters Grace McGlone, an ethereal beauty who walks through a car wash to meet the man she instantly recognizes as "the one." Tucked in between miles of endless highways, campgrounds, and quickies in the back of a pickup truck, Schickler offers readers the backstories of these two unlikely heroes. Henry "muscles" for Honey as a way to "chew up the clock," while Grace is "trying for heaven" as a way to absolve herself from a shameful encounter with a famous evangelist at the age of fifteen. Yet what proves most striking about this unlikely couple is the immediate intensity of their relationship, and Schickler's ability to sustain that coup de foudre sensation throughout the novel's somewhat bumpy ride. In fact, it is only when Schickler strays too far from this explosive couple that the story begins to drag, and readers may find themselves skipping ahead to the more exhilarating aspects of the book.
Kissing in Manhattan, Schickler's widely praised debut, gave readers a delicious taste of this richly imaginative and refreshing literary voice. Sweet and Vicious will certainly take fans to the next level of author appreciation. As Henry says, "There are bold moments sometimes, moments that scare you and call to you all at once." Readers who heed the call are sure to be rewarded with a thrilling adventure. --Gisele Toueg
Book Description
“Fascinating and hilarious,” “relentlessly clever,” and “truly haunting” are all phrases that have been used to describe David Schickler’s unique talent. And all apply to this brash, brilliant novel featuring two of the most memorable characters in contemporary fiction: Grace McGlone and Henry Dante.
Sexy and willful, Grace McGlone is saving herself for the right man. When Henry Dante pulls into the small Wisconsin town where she works at the car wash, she instantly knows he’s the one. He knows it too. But when Grace discovers Henry has “The Planets”—a stolen set of famous Spanish diamonds—stashed in the back seat of his truck, she’s having none of it. She’s “trying for heaven,” and the ill-gotten jewels must go. And so they do, in a race across the American landscape from Chicago to Yellowstone, purusued by a savage gangster obsessed by the diamonds he thought were his.
Passionate, criminal, comical, and possessing all the dark enchantment of a fairy tale, Sweet and Vicious is a modern love story shot straight from the heart of David Schickler’s miraculous imagination.
From the Hardcover edition.
Download Description
“Fascinating and hilarious,” “relentlessly clever,” and “truly haunting” are all phrases that have been used to describe David Schickler's unique talent. And all apply to this brash, brilliant novel featuring two of the most memorable characters in contemporary fiction: Grace McGlone and Henry Dante.
Sexy and willful, Grace McGlone is saving herself for the right man. When Henry Dante pulls into the small Wisconsin town where she works at the car wash, she instantly knows he's the one. He knows it too. But when Grace discovers Henry has “The Planets”—a stolen set of famous Spanish diamonds—stashed in the back seat of his truck, she's having none of it. She's “trying for heaven,” and the ill-gotten jewels must go. And so they do, in a race across the American landscape from Chicago to Yellowstone, purusued by a savage gangster obsessed by the diamonds he thought were his.
Passionate, criminal, comical, and possessing all the dark enchantment of a fairy tale, Sweet and Vicious is a modern love story shot straight from the heart of David Schickler's miraculous imagination.
Customer Reviews:
Great road romance story with human insights.......2005-12-04
OK, a road romance story featuring a mob grunt named Henry Dante and a lovely red-headed girl named Grace does not suggest this is a book of great subtlety or nuance. This is a fast paced book, with some pretty intense and graphic scenes. But it's a great ride, and the story does have something unique to say about love, redemption, faith, and life's meaning for those who look carefully enough.
Henry Dante is a shake down artist for the Chicago mob, who does his job with honor, purposely gives his marks a fighting chance, and is proud to say he's never killed anyone. A job with two other mob goons to recover the planets, a set of seven mythical diamonds worth millions, goes bad when one of the goons decides to rape the wife of the intended target. Dante beats up his partners to stop the rape, and takes off with the diamonds. As Dante flees the scene, he rolls into a sleepy Wisconsin town, where he is spied by Grace, a sexy 20-something "trying for heaven" by holding herself out for the right man. Grace decides Dante is that man, and soon the two are one the road, running from the mob, and doling out each of the seven planets to worthy strangers they meet along the way.
Schickler provides a number of memorable, quirky supporting characters along the way, and provides plenty of unforgettable scenes along the journey. Schickler does not strive for total realism, but the characters are human enough and the situations are plausible enough for the story to work. Sure, the plot is a little predictable, and this is hardly the first "lovers meet on the road, on the run" story, but the material is quite fresh as Schickler writes it.
Readers beware, there is plenty of sex and violence here, and I wouldn't recommend this book for the faint of heart. I also gave it five stars because I love these sort of quirky crime stories. For those who aren't big fans of this genre, give it only four stars.
Simple truths revealed.......2005-10-01
This is a very simple fairy-tale-like story that contains such truth and beauty I was overwhelmed. Love, truth, honesty and KNOWING what's right for you are presented humorously through such an unlikely plot. It all seems so simple, but it really is so profound. I came away from this book with a new sense of hope and understanding. And a need to read it again!!
Expecting More.......2005-09-30
I was expecting good things after reading Kissing in Manhattan, but Sweet and Vicious did not make the cut. Schickler is a beyond-competent writer, but the story failed to evoke the strong emotional response I got with Kissing. The plot is an odd hybrid of a Tarentino film and an X-files episode -- violent, supernatural, and surprisingly predictable. On character development, he tries harder and succeeds less.
That being said, this book is a good day at the beach/plane trip read -- It's short and reasonably digestable.
Doesn't Hold a Candle!!.......2005-08-14
I absolutely loved Kissing in Manhattan and expected the same quality writing in Sweet and Vicious. I attended a book readingby Mr. Schickler in our shared hometown. He read the book with such enthusiasm that I was hooked and bought the book. However, it was a disappointment. Where his first novel was clever and weaved the characters lives together, the plot in Sweet and Vicious appeared fairly predictable and lacking in creativity. It was a quick, pleasant read but I felt uninspired and disappointed. Mr. Schickler has great talent but unfortunately he did not reach his potential in his latest novel.
Ho hum.......2005-04-22
After a promising start the entire story moved along with such linear precision that it may have been written by a mathematician. Never did it deviate from a plotline that was anticipated after the second chapter. In the genre of heist stories we've come to expect twists and turns until the last minute. Here we had none. I was waiting for somebody to be something other than what they appeared to be, somebody to do something out of character. And the thorough implausibility of the climactic confrontation on stage in front of 5000 people had me shaking my head. Oh, and if somebody would be kind enough to post a follow up review explaining the significance of the hitch hiker, I'd appreciate it.
Book Description
Revenge is sweet, but payback can be vicious. Nola is sick of moping over the end of her friendship with Marnie, and decides to be just as cunning as Marnie and Marnie's new group of popular friends. So when Marnie "accidentally" runs into her first love-and a whole lot of confusion-is Nola to blame? Meanwhile, Nola's own crush gets her into a bit of trouble. . . and on top of it all, Homecoming is around the corner! What are two ex-best friends to do?
Customer Reviews:
Gorgeous series........2006-09-14
My favorite series besides Fake, Kizuna (released by BeBeautiful) is at the moment I would say the ultimate classic among all Yaoi Manga to date that has been released.
Enjouji has been kidnapped by the Yakuza and they find out who he really is which puts his life in danger. His lover, Ranmaru is sick with worry when his boyfriend doesn't return home, fearing that he is in trouble and finds Enjouji's half brother Kai, to help him locate and rescue Enjouji.
Ties of love are pulled to the extremes when Ranmaru comes to terms with the fact he may lose Enjouji forever and picks up his sword in an act of revenge for his fallen lover.
Kizuna is defiantly a title you should pick up! The translation is perfect and the art suits the storyline well. Anyone who is a fan of titles like FAKE and wanted more action should defiantly look up Kizuna.
My top favorite Yaoi title!.......2006-04-04
Finally Book 5 is here after such a long long wait! Bebeautifulmanga.com, the publisher, just takes too long to get Kizuna translated. Book 5 continues the story arc from Book 4. No sex scenes here but the great story line, well developed characters and of course the presence of my favorite Yaoi couple, Kei and Ran, more than made up for it. Kai seems to have matured in Vol 5. About time, as I never like this bratty character whom I always feel should not be paired up with Masai. Tashiro and Jack, another couple, chip in with hints of their intriguing pasts.
Kei has disappeared and Ran is sick with worry. Ran finally finds his beloved Kei but can they escape. Ran is about to kill to revenge and protect the man he loves. Will Ran lose it..and that is how Vol 5 ends.., with a cliff hanger.
I have all 10 volumes (to-date) of the Japanese version of Kizuna though I do not know a word of Japanese. Just looking at the pictures is enough to keep me pulling my hair in frustration at the slow pace of the translation of Kizuna.
Well, I last heard that Vol 6 will be out in April and I really hope Amazon will not take too long to secure Vol 6.
Believe me from what I can gather from the pictures of my Japanese version, Kizuna just keeps on getting better and of course more hot scenes!
Finally, Book 5!.......2006-04-04
It's painful to wait between volumes of the English release of Kizuna.
If you're unfamiliar with the series, Kizuna is one of the most popular Yaoi titles around by the fabulous Kazuma Kodaka. It's drawn in "shonen" style, which is how men's comics are often drawn. Hard lines, shadows and angry rough looking fellas. Most Yaoi is drawn in "shojo" style, with softer, more feminine attributes. This makes Kizuna very unique among Yaoi titles, though it really shines in the quality of the writing.
The storyline of Kizuna revolves around two lovers, Ranmaru, a former kendo champion and Kei, the illegitimate son of a Yakuza boss. Kei's half brother, and legitimate heir to the clan, Kai, is also mixed up in the two men's lives and causes a lot of trouble for Kei, Ran, and his personal bodyguard and pseudo-suitor, Masa.
If you are new to the series, you should probably go back and start with volume 1; volume 5 picks up in the middle of some heavy storyline, and you'll be lost if you don't already know what's going on. In fact, I was lost because it has been so long since volume 4 (though there is a "story thus far" at the beginning to jog one's memory with).
Anyway, this volume is packed full of action. Yes, action. Not the sexual kind. Kei has been kidnapped and Ran has finally gotten worried. He enlists Masa's help and then joins up with Kai to find him. Kai, for his part, escapes the watchful eye of his bodyguard, Tashiro, who himself is distracted by a former acquaintance. Kai is really taking a role of authority in this volume. He breaks from his dependency on Masa and works to help his half-brother with the man they both love.
The volume ends in another cliffhanger, so we'll all have to wait for volume 6, whenever that will be, to find out if Ran has totally lost his mind, or if he is just really pissed off.
kizuna: bonds of love .......2006-03-08
i heard from someone.. there is good story of love.. i want to read that the book! and also dvd too. .smile thank you so much
Book Description
On Earth, six million B.C., two species of alien ruled, the graceful humanoid Tanu and their twisted brethren, the Firvulag. Then men from twenty-second century Earth arrived through a one-way time tunnel -- and soon the aliens were locked in a battle to the death, for the humans had upset the precarious balance of power that existed between them.
But when the tides of combat had receded, no one group held firm control, though Aiken Drum, man of no woman born, had declared himself the Nonborn King . . . .
Customer Reviews:
Super Reader.......2007-08-30
The rebel attack, engineered by Stein and blasted through by Felice's massive metapsychic powers, has destroyed the old power structure of the Tanu. Many more of them died in the flood, and the operant, more fecund Firvulag now hold a decided advantage.
Aiken Drum steps into the breach to take the reins of power.
The opening of the book shows us a very important factor, how some of Marc Remillard's rebel faction managed to escape and come back in time. This was mostly covered up, and few know about it.
The new society calls for new alliances, including the deformed mutant Firvulag Howlers, humans, rebels and others.
There will be a new Grand Combat, now more a sporting event, as the Tanu can no longer afford the casualties.
As a culmination, Nodonn Battlemaster returns, having survived the flood, and challenges Aiken.
Disappointing Sequel.......2005-08-31
The first two volumes in this imaginative series were pretty obviously planned as a single novel. Together they have a nice round shape, with a powerful climax that ties together a number of the plot threads. This sequel is like the second volume in the original Dune series, an unplanned extension that tries to make do with the leftovers of the original novel.
This value of the first two books is in the impressive juxtaposition of hard science fiction, magical powers, and the Pliocene setting. May also delves into myth and folklore effectively and takes risks with a delightful range of characters. But in this third volume, much of the good stuff disappears. Gone are the excitements of alien anthropology. The alien Tanu, a psychic race of giant tyrant elves, were largely decimated at the end of book two. The alien Firvulag, a race of shape-shifting gnomes, has now come into power, but we hardly see them in action. In the first two volumes Pliocene fauna and geology propel an exciting plot; here May makes only perfunctory use of them.
May has exiled many of the series' most interesting characters from this third volume (Richard, Madame Guderian, Nuntsuvel). One lively holdover, the psychopath pixie, Felice, turns quite dull as she spends most of the novel avoiding any contact with other characters. Most of the plot concerns the political machinations of the trickster Aiken Drum, who has become distinctly less flashy and sympathetic as he's gained power. May is forced to resurrect two characters, Mercy and Nodonn, who apparently died in book two's climax, in order to give Aiken a contrived and out-of-character love triangle. May essentially sacrifices the first two book's imaginative strengths in order to turn the fourth book over to a new protagonist, who, like Aiken, is yet another in a long line of rebel-tyrants.
Readers new to this series would do fine with just volumes one and two. Still, May's Pliocene world is so rich and bizarre that there's always some pleasure in spending time there.
Why can't I rate it 6 stars? Bravo!.......2003-10-10
Julian May continues in her tradition of exotic, colorful,
vivid landscapes and characterizations in the Nonborn King, book three of the Saga of Pliocene Exile. IMO, this is the best writer for descriptive, smooth prose in the business.
Book Three centers on Aiken Drum, a trickster misfit who has emerged with awesome psychic powers, and leader of a faction of Tanu-- those psychic aliens that had enslaved humanity as they traveled back through time to the Pliocene from 22nd century earth.
Aiken maneuvers his faction to attain dominance among the Pliocene-- there are titanic battles, politics, intrigue, nobility, and deception. All in May's wonderfully smooth, adjective-laden writing style that is never too complex, never cluttered, just easy-breathing wonder.
We are also introduced to Marc Remillard, my favorite character in sci-fi. While Aiken is Wagner's Loki, Remillard is Milton's Lucifer. Puissant, noble, the defeated idealist, utterly focused, driven at the expense of those he loves or loved. A magnificent character that plays a role throughout May's later Intervention/Galactic Milieu books as well.
Books One and Two set the stage, were eminently satisfying, left us begging for more. Nonborn King delivers... An epic penultimate climax leaving you wondering how she's ever going to top it.
The new Fairy King is set to shake up History.......2001-01-09
Once again, the human exiles of the 22nd century must join the struggle for survival in the alien dominated Many Coloured Land. Only this time, they've brought their future tech with them.
The landscape - both geographic and political - has been radically altered, and the long standing balance of power between elfin Tanu and ogreish Firvulag has been upset. There's a new power block in the Pliocene, and they don't play by the rules.
The only strand holding the planet together is the reluctant vision of Eliizabeth Orm, shanghaied into guardianship over these bickering children. Can she maintain the truce between the new aggresive Firvulag rulers, and the lofty Tanu Knights, led by their ultimate Trickster? And where do the rebel humans fit in?
Locke, Puck and Jester, all rolled into one, there are depths to this little non-born that not even he realises.
The book is absolutely marvellous and should be read........1999-04-09
Together with the three other books in this series, 'The Nonborn King' is a marvellous book. Many climaxes are created in this part and many riddles get solved. It shows the reign of Aiken Drum and his new kingdom in the many-colored land. May describes Aiken in an intriguing way and like with all the characters in the book, the reader gets emotionally involved in their actions. The world is fantastic, the people are adventurous, the plot in arcane and the story is very original. This book is a must for every fantasy lover and the elements of sci-fi make it even better.
Customer Reviews:
Super Reader.......2007-08-30
For a fan of this series by Julian May, and I have read them many times, this is excellent. Lots of tidbits you may have missed when reading, too.
This includes the information on the various different types of operant powers, the society of the Pliocene, as well as of the milieu and the technology that Marc Remillard manages to bring back.
An essential book for Julian May fans.......2002-11-09
It has to be asked - is it necessary to add this book to your shelf? Do you really need another 'Readers Guide' type book?
Well, if you're a fan of Julian May's sprawing 'Galactic Milieu' series, (a page-turning & adventurous retelling of 'Paradise Lost' long before Phillip Pullman thought to do it) and a member of the Julian May discussion group
Alright, so it only covers the 'Exiles' part of the series (this book really needs an update) but the glossary is quite useful even if some of the entries are short, and the three interviews with the author are worth the price of the book by istself.
Only To Complete Your Collection..........2002-01-31
This hard-to-find book is a companion to the four-book Pliocene Exile Saga by Julian May. (The saga itself was followed by two related series, the Great Intervention and the Galactic Milieu.) I remember way back when these first came out, I was but an ignorant lad and I too readily dismissed them as foolish tripe of the most juvenile sort. I mean, one-way time travel back to the past of Earth's Pliocene era? Where strange aliens ruled? And people ran about, zapping each other with mind powers? Yeah, it sounds hokey, but it's actually really good and quite addictive stuff.
In any case, this volume is a reference guide to the saga. It has some nice maps and it reprints three interviews with the author, which are rather informative. It also includes a bibliography of sources that inspired her, references to real poems that were quoted in the saga, and a discussion of why cats are great.
The core material, however, isn't so compelling. By deliberate design, May doesn't give away too much about any characters in these listings, so they tend to be very skeletal. A typical entry will read something like "Joe Bloggs was a powerful redactor who lived in Goriah and fought in the Great Tourney. For details, read his adventures in 'The Golden Torc'." Um...okay. By comparison, most guides of this sort for other series will spill their guts about every tangential detail.
Also, keep in mind that the guide only covers the Pliocene saga and it treats characters from the other two series only insofar as they had relevance to this first set of novels. So, if you want the lowdown on Rogatien Remillard, for instance, you're out of luck.
This is a good book to have if you wish to complete your collection, but is otherwise fairly superfluous.
Average customer rating:
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The Nonborn King (The Saga of the Exiles)
Julian May
Manufacturer: Tor
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Binding: Paperback
 May, Julian
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The Golden Torc (The Saga of the Exiles)
ASIN: 033026902X |
Customer Reviews:
Super Reader.......2007-08-30
The rebel attack, engineered by Stein and blasted through by Felice's massive metapsychic powers, has destroyed the old power structure of the Tanu. Many more of them died in the flood, and the operant, more fecund Firvulag now hold a decided advantage.
Aiken Drum steps into the breach to take the reins of power.
The opening of the book shows us a very important factor, how some of Marc Remillard's rebel faction managed to escape and come back in time. This was mostly covered up, and few know about it.
The new society calls for new alliances, including the deformed mutant Firvulag Howlers, humans, rebels and others.
There will be a new Grand Combat, now more a sporting event, as the Tanu can no longer afford the casualties.
As a culmination, Nodonn Battlemaster returns, having survived the flood, and challenges Aiken.
Average customer rating:
|
The Nonborn King
Julian May
Manufacturer: Houghton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GLP4EK |
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Saga of the Pliocene #03: The Nonborn King
Julian May
Manufacturer: Del Rey Books
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0345008421 |
Book Description
Acclaimed in the Progressive's "Best Reading of 1993," these thrilling and harrowing firsthand stories of survivors and their rescuers vividly reveal the secret history of the Jews who found asylum from Hitler's Final Solution under Franco's Fascist regime.
Customer Reviews:
A riveting story of a little-known part of Holocaut history.......2004-12-01
Alexy was a child in Prague, in 1939. When World War II broke out, her father suddenly announced that the family was leaving, and that they would be baptized as Catholics. Up to that point, the author had not even known that her family was Jewish. From Prague, they fled to France, and then to Spain.
Years later, after she was living in America, she learned that many Jews had fled to Spain during the Holocaust, but that most had not converted or hidden their Jewishness.
As she began to trace her roots, she discovered the irony of Jews seeking protection in a country that, centuries before, and persecuted and expelled them.
There are a couple of books here, fighting for supremacy!
The first book is about how and why Spain opened its borders to Jewish refugees from the Holocaust.
"The irrefutable fact remains that, although the presence of Jews placed the whole country at risk of being drawn into another ar or occupied by Hitler's forces, Fascist Spain, both officially and unofficially, accepted thousands of foreign Ashkenazic Jews within its borders and allowed them to remain until they were able to secure residence elsewhere."
Why? The question is probably unanswerable, though Alexy tries her best. Guilt over the expulsions of 1492? Maybe, but this does not account for the welcome to Ashkenazic, as well as Sephardic, Jews. Maybe Franco had Jewish ancestors? There's no proof of that. A political decision in case the Allies won? Perhaps, but in a country devastated economically by the Civil War, Spain gave much. One interesting suggestion is that because of the expulsion, and the concomitant absence of a Jewish population, Spain did not develop the kind of anti-Semitic attitudes seen in other European countries.
Whatever the reason, the fact remains that thousands owe their lives to an official blind eye, and open Spanish arms.
Alexy begins by explaining her quest, her need to understand her own family history that sent her to Spain, and to the New York archives of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee ("the Joint"), the organization that was responsible for helping stateless Jewish refugees in Spain. She interviews several people who found, or whose parents found, a haven across the Pyrenees, and in the section called "The Rescuers" she writes of those, Jews and non-Jews, who provided the means to safety. People such as Lisa Fittko, who acted as a guide, and Renée Reichmann, who from Tangier arranged material support, and Spanish diplomats who told the Gestapo, "these are our Jews" and taught the children a few words of Spanish in case they should be challenged.
The next two parts seemed to me as though they should be in a different book. "The Reformers" writes of present-day liberalization of Spanish laws and attitudes about non-Catholics (not merely Jews). It's interesting but although it touches on some theories as to why Spain helped, it is really more focused on the present and seems out of place.
The same is true of the final section, about contemporary Marranos and other "secret Jews". This is a huge topic about which a whole book could, and should (and probably has, I'll have to look) be written. In fact, the subtitle of this book suggests that that's what it's about. But it isn't.
Either this book should have been much longer, and made into a history of Spain and the Jews (and that would be a seriously long book!), or it should have been shorter, and the last two parts saved to become another book or books.
But those are quibbles. This is a fascinating, and very personal, discussion of an unexpected and little-known part of the Holocaust.
A valuable addition to Holocaust literature about rescue.......2004-09-08
Highly-readable account of Spain's indirect role during the Holocaust as many Jews sought escape to the West through Spain. There are interesting portraits of both the rescued and rescuers, with additional chapters on modern Spanish Jews and Marranos or Crypto-Jews of Spanish descent. Alexy did a great service bringing these stories to our attention as very few have thought of Jews in Spain beyond the Inquisition.
Interviews if you will........2002-05-27
This is a good book, all the stories gathered and told really paint the picture of what people went through trying to escape the Holocust, and how Spain really did help them.
Heartbreaking Title.......2002-05-17
Once you read this book,the title makes sense. The author was a holocust survivor and was so grateful and impressed with Spain that she felt compelled to go back to see if others felt the same. Lot's of interviews in this book regarding that perticular era. What a twist for Spain!
Excellent Read!
Fascinating mix of heroism, personal histories and religion.......2001-08-29
I found this book at my Jewish boyfriend's mother's house. She checked it out of the library as part of a Sephardic reading group. I started skimming through it and couldn't put it down, had to buy my own copy here on Amazon! Trudi Alexy and her family fled Czechoslovakia to escape the Germans and were chased through France and finally Spain before they felt safe. Spain, in spite of its history of ultra-conservative Catholicism, Inquisition, expulsion of the Jews, etc., was one of the few safe havens for Jews fleeing the Germans during WWII. I was surpised to find this out, since Franco was a part of the Axis powers, a rigid ultra-Catholic, a dictator, and a Fascist. But I guess he wasn't an anti-Semite, because he basically looked the other way when Jews began pouring into Spain illegally to escape being killed in the concentration camps of Occupied Europe, especially Vichy-controlled France, which practically did all they could to deliver the Jews over to the Germans, nasty anti-Semites that the French are. In contrast, Spain not only looked the other way when Jews came pouring over the border, in many cases Spanish diplomats would demand that arrested Jews in other countries be released to them as Spanish citizens, even in cases where the Jews were Ashkenaz, not even Sephardic! The Spanish Red Cross also made a great effort to get food, clothing and letters shipped to Jews in concentration camps in the rest of Europe, even as the International Red Cross did absolutely nothing to help. There are horrific stories from the survivors themselves, tales of fleeing the Nazis with only the clothes on their backs, of escaping concentration camps and struggling over the Pyrenees in mid-winter without even a proper coat. Tales of getting to Spain and turning themselves in to the police to find warm beds, food and even money provided for them by kind hearted Spaniards from all walks of life. Then there are stories from the people who smuggled them into Spain, the risks they took to save thousands upon thousands of people from certain death. And tales of the Secret Jews, or Marranos, or Crypto-Jews, who were forced to convert during the Inquisition, or who were expelled from Spain, and the constant threats that they faced. Many of them continued practicing their Jewish rituals in absolute secrecy, in most cases not even letting their children know that they were of Jewish blood until age 12, when they were less likely to slip and give the secret away to outsiders. Many Crypto-Jews live in Mexico and New Mexico today, their ancestors having arrived in the 1500's after the expulsion from Spain. The Inquisition follwed them to the New World, however, so they continued practicing the most minimal Jewish traditions, such as ritual prayer, in absolute secrecy. Trudi interviewed some people who only identified as Catholics, but had listened to an NPR show on the Crypto-Jews and identified ancient and distorted Jewish traditions that their own family practiced! These people were utterly shocked to find out that they were of Jewish ancestry. I don't personally see the big deal, but I guess if you're a major Christian, then you might think it's a bad thing. In most cases though, the families were not only aware of their Jewish ancestry, but fostered it in secret while living a public life of Catholicism. They would intermarry only amongst one another and kept to fairly tight-knit communities. I liked the stories of the people who escaped to Spain during WWII best, since they were so full of heroism and drama, but really the whole book was fascinating.
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- Tevye's Daughters: Collected Stories of Sholom Aleichem
- The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost his Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden
- The Almond: The Sexual Awakening of a Muslim Woman
- The Battle of the Golden Spurs (Courtrai, 11 July 1302): A Contribution to the History of Flanders' War of Liberation, 1297-1305 (Warfare in History)
- The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B
- The Best of Myles
- The Bohemians Of The Latin Quarter: Scenes De La Vie De Boheme
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Recommended Books
- The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
- Nobu West
- Dr. Heidenhoff's Process
- Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Tennessee
- Hard Core: Power, Pleasure, and the "Frenzy of the Visible", Expanded edition
- History: Fiction or Science
- Guide To Undertaking Biodiversity Legal And Institutional Profiles: A Contribution To The Global Bio
- Half the Way Home: A Memoir of Father and Son
- Eastern Industrialization and Its Effect on the West, With Special Reference to Great Britain and Ja
- The Agile Manager's Guide to Giving Great Presentations
Kissing in Manhattan
Out of the Girls' Room and into the Night (Iowa Short Fiction Award)
The Frog King
Goodbye Lemon
The Fundamentals of Play: A Novel
